2017 Football Roster
Roster
Jalen McKenzie
- Position:
- Offensive Tackle
- Height:
- 6-5
- Weight:
- 305
- Class:
- Freshman
- Hometown:
- Concord, CA
- High School:
- Clayton Valley
CAREER: He has appeared in 42 games in his career, with 19 starts. He has tackle and a 4-yard kickoff return in his career.
2021: The veteran McKenzie appeared in all 12 games on the offensive line and on special teams as a senior in 2021, while starting the final 5 contests (Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA, BYU, California). He was a 2022 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl invitee.
2020: McKenzie started for his second season on the offensive line, this time at right tackle, as a junior in 2020. He started all 6 games in 2020. He was also available to play guard. He was named to 2020 All-Pac-12 honorable mention and Phil Steele All-Pac-12 third team.
2019: McKenzie started all of his 2019 sophomore season, 11 games at right offensive guard and twice (Colorado, Iowa) at right offensive tackle. He made a tackle against Oregon and returned a short kickoff for 4 yards at California.
2018: McKenzie appeared in all 12 games offensive tackle and on special teams as a redshirt freshman in 2018, even starting twice (California, UCLA).
2017: McKenzie redshirted as a backup first-year offensive tackle at USC in 2017. He enrolled at USC in the fall of 2017 and was awarded a scholarship at USC by virtue of an NCAA rule known as “blueshirting” (it allows a non-recruited student-athlete to receive athletic financial aid after beginning practice and have that student-athlete count towards the next year’s signing class if the school has reached its NCAA-maximum aid limit for the current year).
HIGH SCHOOL: He made 2016 Tacoma News Tribune Western 100, Prep Star All-West Region, USA Today All-California second team, Cal-Hi Sports All-State second team, Max Preps All-NorCal second team, San Jose Mercury News All-Bay Area first team and San Francisco Chronicle All-Metro second team as a senior offensive and defensive lineman at Clayton Valley High in Concord (Calif.). Bishop O’Dowd won the 2016 state Class 5-AA title.
He sat out his 2015 junior season with a knee ligament injury.
PERSONAL: He earned his bachelor’s degree in international relations from USC in the spring of 2021 and now is working on a master’s in non-governmental organizations and social change. His father, Reggie McKenzie, was a linebacker at Tennessee (1981-84) and then played in the NFL with the Los Angeles Raiders (1985-88), Phoenix Cardinals (1989-90) and San Francisco 49ers (1992) and in the World League of American Football with the Montreal Machine (1992), then was an assistant coach at Tennessee in 1993, worked in the Green Bay Packers’ front office from 1994 to 2011, was the general manager of the Oakland Raiders (2012-18) and now is a senior personnel executive with the Miami Dolphins. His brother, Kahlil, was a defensive lineman at Tennessee (2015-17) who played offensive line with the Kansas City Chiefs (2018), Seattle Seahawks (2019-20), Cincinnati Bengals (2020) and Baltimore Ravens (2021) and the XFL’s Los Angeles Wildcats (2020). His uncle, Raleigh McKenzie (Reggie’s twin brother), was a center at Tennessee (1981-84) and then played in the NFL with the Washington Redskins (1985-94, where he won 2 Super Bowls), Philadelphia Eagles (1995-96), San Diego Chargers (1997-98) and Green Bay Packers (1999-2000), and then was a scout with the Oakland Raiders.
